Confusion. // Jyrus

Chapter 7

After school, I ran straight to the field, ready to burn off all of the negative energy that I had built up inside. Frisbee was a good way to take my mind off of whatever I was worried about at the time. I was excited to see Cyrus already standing near the field all set up, but he wasn't there. He had just starting coming to all of our practices recently, and he was deemed as the manager of the team. We'd talk strategies, and he'd organize games along with bringing his sick vest and cooler. But, today, he wasn't there. I called out to the team to see if they knew where he was, but they all shrugged. I figured that he must be coming later.

We started practice and I looked over to the school every few minutes to see if he'd come. And he never did. Afterwards, I called him to see what was up.

"Hello?" he asked on the other line.

"Hey, Cyrus!" I said. "Where were you at practice today?"

"Oh, I went to The Spoon with Walker." Of course. "You should come, too! Andi and Buffy are on their way."

I felt a smile creep on my face. "Sure," I responded, still trying to sound cool. Once we hung up, I raced over to the diner. Once I had realized that I got there too early and Buffy and Andi weren't even there yet, I strolled around downtown for a little while before returning. I walked in a pulled a chair up between Cyrus and Buffy, feeling my heart beat faster from being beside him.

"So, Jonah," I heard Walker start to say, drawing my attention to him. "What practice were you coming from?"

"Ultimate Frisbee," I said smiling. I loved telling people what I play.

Walker seemed to snicker. "Oh, I thought you played soccer or football or something."

I shook my head and sipped from my drink. Walker leaned into Cyrus and quietly said, "And you help him with it?" Cyrus looked over at me out of the corner of his eye and whispered an annoyed "yes," back.

I guessed maybe he thought I couldn't hear their exchange, so I let it go. But then, Walker leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms and said, "Wow, that's ridiculous."

I was about to say something, but Buffy quickly answered for me and said, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"That it's ridiculous that Cyrus wastes his time helping him with a fake sport," Walker answered.

What? "It's not a fake sport," I said through my gritted teeth.

Walker leaned forward and squinted his eyes. "Is it in the Olympics?"

"Not yet," I grunted.

Cyrus glared at Walker and said, "Walker," in a threatening tone.

Walker looked at Cyrus in his eyes and asked, "What?" before looking back at me. "It's true."

I grabbed my sweatshirt from the back of the chair and pushed the door open, exposing my hot face to the crisp November air. I kept the frown on and my sweatshirt off until I got too cold to care. I sat in my room staring at my math textbook while not actually doing the work in it. I kept hearing my phone vibrate every few minutes, but I knew it was Cyrus so I ignored it. I didn't understand what he saw in that Walker guy. I mean, I guess he's cute. But that shouldn't matter! I didn't like Cyrus just because he's adorable. I like him because he's kind and caring. I've known Walker for like 12 hours and I can already tell that he's a huge jerk.

I wandered into the living room where my mom was reading on the couch. "Hey mom?"

She looked up and smiled. "Yes hun?"

"Um, you remember Cyrus?"

"Your frisbee friend?"

"Yeah. Is it alright if I go mini golfing with him this weekend?"

"Just him?"

"Well, no. Him and his, um, boyfriend Walker."

My mom's eyes grew open. "His boyfriend?"

"Yeah-is that cool?"

She took a second to process. "Um, I guess so."

I decided to test the water. "No, is it cool that he's like, not straight?"

"Oh, of course. It's not really any of my business, though," she responded.

I really had to fight to keep from smiling, and it didn't work.